Preview: Northern Iowa at Creighton

January 15, 2013|Reuters

Creighton is coasting through Missouri Valley Conference play and star forward Doug McDermott seeks another huge outing when the No. 10 Bluejays host Northern Iowa on Tuesday. McDermott scored a season-high 39 points in a 74-52 victory over Missouri State on Friday to boost Creightonâs winning streak to 10, including five straight conference games. The Bluejays and Wichita State are the lone unbeaten squads in the MVC. Northern Iowa is coming off an 84-53 trouncing of Bradley and the 31-point victory was the schoolâs largest since joining the MVC for the 1991-92 campaign. The Panthers also matched a school record by sinking 15 3-point baskets. Creighton coach Greg McDermott guided the Panthers to three NCAA tournaments (2004-06) when he was Northern Iowaâs coach.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3.com

ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA (9-8, 2-3 MVC): Senior guard Marc Sonnen had 21 points and seven 3-point baskets â both matching career highs â in the victory over Bradley. Sonnen has made a team-high 43 3-pointers and ranks seventh in school history with 148. He is averaging 9.9 points as part of a balanced attack in which five players average more than nine points. Senior guard Anthony James averages a team-best 11.6, followed by sophomore forward Seth Tuttle (11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds). Sophomore point guard Deon Mitchell averages 10.4 points and senior forward Jake Koch averages 9.5 points and leads the team in rebounding (6.5) and blocked shots (21).

ABOUT CREIGHTON (16-1, 5-0): McDermott bolstered his national player of the year hopes with his latest superb effort that rates as his fourth 30-point outing of the campaign. He made 15 of 19 field-goal attempts and added 10 rebounds while raising his season averages to 23.6 points and 7.4 rebounds. âIt was one of the better games Iâve ever played in my life,â McDermott said. His father and coach has seen that type of showing numerous times and knows how to adjust the game plan when his son is in the zone. âDoug got on an unbelievable roll, one you donât see too often in college basketball,â Greg McDermott said. âWhen that happens with him, we kind of give him the ball and get out of his way.â Doug McDermott is shooting 57 percent from the field, including 50.7 from 3-point range. He had made 31 of his last 53 3-point attempts. Senior center Gregory Echenique is averaging 10.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting 67.6 percent from the field.

TIP-INS

1. Creighton leads the series 29-16. The teams split two meetings last season.

2. The Bluejays are 10-1 at home with the lone loss coming against Boise State on Nov. 28.

3. Koch became the fifth player in Northern Iowa history to reach 100 career blocks during the win over Bradley.